“You never know who you’re saving; you never know what future you’re making possible…” Kelly Corrigan speaking to a packed Fox Theater in Oakland, with 1,615 people in attendance on Saturday night for the 8th annual Notes & Words: Benefit For UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. As per their format, entertainment included both writers and musicians on stage. This year featured musicians Daveed Diggs, The Head and the Heart, and Vocal Rush and writers Michael Lewis, Calvin Trillin, and writer (and event host) Kelly Corrigan. The Oakland School for the Arts Chamber Choir also performed. Notes & Words is an annual benefit concert created to support the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland; the Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland provides the highest quality medical care to children throughout California. An intimate show, it shared many personal stories and perspectives by way of the personalities on stage as well as video presentations offering real context by showcasing some of the patients of the Children’s Hospital.

As with my 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Year in Review features, this article looks back on a year of music with a summary of the highlights. This year, I attended about 35 shows, with hundreds of different sets of incredible talent and music to make sense of, not to mention trying to keep up with all of the studio releases from artists, new and old. This is my attempt to (subjectively) share my favorites of the year, from live shows to new songs and albums. You can also check out my Top 100 Concert Photos of 2016 in that separate article.

This is the first of my 2016 “Year In Review” articles. As with my articles in 2012, 2013, and 2014 and 2015, I reviewed a sampling of my concert photos from 2016 and compiled some of my favorites and stopped when I hit 100 photos in total. Please also check out my companion 2016 Year in Review article, which covers my Top 5 Albums, Top 50 Songs, Top 10 Concerts and more. [Read more…]

KFOG held their Concert for Kids concert at The Masonic in San Francisco on December 8th, boasting a stellar musical line-up of Band of Horses, Blind Pilot and The Revivalists. The popular venue was packed with fans coming out for a great concert and also in support of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and the Marines Toys for Tots program. [Read more…]

80s music icon Adam Ant is celebrating the 35th anniversary of his landmark album Kings of the Wild Frontier with a newly remastered box set release, as well as a North American tour kicking off next month in Washington DC. With this new tour, Adam Ant will play the album in its entirety and in sequence. [Read more…]

“I try to think about tomorrow, but I always think about the past… about the things that didn’t last… if I could go to the beginning, then for sure I would be another way… make it better for today…” Pixies (the “loud quiet loud” band) are a quiet band on stage in-between the generally quick songs, so we are left with the music, and the lyrics within, to try to figure out what is going on with them. It was less than one month ago that they released their sixth studio album – their second without founding bass player and vocalist Kim Deal – and their first with new full-time member Paz Lenchantin. The new album serves as fuel for this tour, with just four rare dates in Calif0rnia this month as prelude to many shows across Europe, England, Australia and New Zealand, keeping them busy until early next year. So it was interesting seeing them and hearing some of their new music performed at Ace of Spades in Sacramento on Wednesday night. The Pixies in Sacramento. A rare thing indeed. One of my all-time favorite bands playing in the city where I was born, and where I first saw the band way back in 1990, about a quarter of a century ago. A different time. So much has changed, but so much about the band remains the same. I’ve taken the new album, Head Carrier, for a spin and those lyrics above stuck with me. Interestingly, the vocals on that particular song are delivered by Paz, who is no Kim soundalike (on vocals or bass), though obviously the message in those lyrics is for Kim. So the Pixies in 2016 is older, mature, different… and the band is at once both old and new; looking backwards and forwards. The album sounds quite different from everything that came before (even 2014’s Indie Cindy). And I think that the sentiments expressed in that song, “All I Think About Now”, kind of sums up this new iteration of the Pixies. With this live show, the old and the new were mixed together to create a different sort of Pixies show, giving something fresh to both new and old fans alike. But there are still those songs that carry on and remain classic to those who were with it at the time, in the band’s short-lived first incarnation in the late 80s and early 90s. The concert was a tribute to that as well.

Pixies put out their sixth studio album, Head Carrier, on September 30th. This is the first album from the band to feature Paz Lenchantin on bass. Pixies have now announced four shows in California to end this month, before embarking on a tour of Europe, England, and Australia in November, December, and March. [Read more…]

Below is the latest updated list of memorabilia for entertainment memorabilia, including rock and pop music stage and studio used equipment and costumes, as well as other entertainment memorabilia. Please contact me if you are aware of any coming events of interest to collectors. Please also note that I update changes/additions to the calendar until the next update, in order to maintain as up to date as possible. [Read more…]

“Oakland, San Francisco, how the hell you doing tonight? We played here almost six years ago opening up for somebody… Who here was there? Was anybody there at the show? I’m just sayin’, I do see a lot of people who have been with us all six years, and for all of you who have come to all these shows, all these years, thank you so much!” Andrew Wessen, guitarist of Grouplove, a band who always has their gratitude and appreciation on display. They played a scorcher at a packed Fox Theater on Friday night, supporting their third studio album, Big Mess. Just one date into their new U.S. tour running through the end of the year (followed by dates in Australia), they sounded and performed better than ever. One of my favorite live acts, they put on a high energy show that had the crowd bouncing throughout, embracing the excellent new songs as much as the favorites. Definitely a must see tour. The latest album, produced by Captain Cuts (Grouplove’s Ryan Rabin) and Phil Ek is characterized by their signature sound and style, and may be their best yet. With their “Big Mess World Tour”, one dollar for every ticket sold will be donated to the organization charity: water to help fund water projects like drilled wells, spring protections, and BioSand filters that help provide clean water to communities around the world. [Read more…]

“We been coming around here with you guys… well, hell, we’ve been coming around with you all for over four decades. Same three guys right here… Same three chords right here…” Billy Gibbons, guitarist and vocalist of ZZ Top, sharing the stage with co-vocalist and bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard. What can you say about a band that’s had the same line-up forever (since 1969!). Really unheard of in the music industry. In any event, having covered the Summer Concert Series by Richter Entertainment Group at Ironstone Amphitheatre at Ironstone Vineyards over the past several months, ZZ Top turned out a huge crowd that had a unique character all its own. With Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band heating things up at the start of the evening, ZZ Top closed it out with both bands showcasing incredible work on guitar being the star of the show.

Search Rock Subculture

Latest Tour News

Yesterday, Coldplay kicked off the second North American leg of their “A Head Full of Dreams” tour at at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. This is a follow-up to the first visit to North America in July, August and September of 2016. The band’s seventh tour, it is a return to larger arenas […]

WorldOne Presents is bringing another fantastic line-up of 80s R&B icons to the Greater Sacramento Region at Thunder Valley Amphitheater on Saturday, August 5th. Soulfest ’17 will feature The O’Jays, Morris Day & The Time, S.O.S. Band and GQ.

Peter Hook & The Light are bringing their incredible “Substance – The Albums Of Joy Division & New Order” back to the U.S. in 2018. Hooky and the band will be performing both the Joy Division and New Order albums Substance live, in their original track sequence and in their entirety. Having reviewed the tour […]

Current Photo Exhibition

Latest Interview

This article features the latest in an ongoing series of “Rock Talk” podcast audio interviews for the Rock Subculture Journal. Today’s guest is Ted Ottaviano with Book Of Love. The synth pop New Wave group continue to celebrate their 30th anniversary with the release of new music as part of 2016’s “MMXVI: The 30th Anniversary […]